YORK VALKYRIE 32 WIGAN WARRIORS 10
SEBASTIAN STERNIK, Crow Trees, Blaydon, Sunday

YORK sent a statement of intent to the rest of the Women’s Super League by thumping high-flying Wigan.

The Valks ran riot in the opening half, scoring four unanswered tries in front of a noisy Newcastle crowd.

Wigan simply had no answers in what proved to be a mistake-prone performance, and the Challenge Cup winners’ first defeat of the year means St Helens now lead the division by a point with three rounds of the regular season remaining.

The game got off to a cautious start, with both teams finishing their sets and looking to find their bearings in what was a new venue, being used as part of a partnership between York and Newcastle Thunder.

Nevertheless, it was York who ended up striking first, finding the opening try after just 10 minutes. 

Wigan’s Anna Davies knocked on deep in her own half, handing Valkyrie dangerous field position. The hosts made the most of their opportunity, forcing Wigan’s defence back on their own line before finding a way through, with Sinead Peach getting over the whitewash. 

Wigan didn’t learn their lesson, as just 10 minutes later they conceded a second try in similar fashion. Another knock-on deep in their own half invited a York attack, one which culminated with a Peace Lekuru try down the right side. 

Errors plagued Wigan’s first-half display, with the Cherry and Whites being punished for every major mistake.

That same narrative continued on the half-hour mark, with York taking advantage of a forward pass. Handed the ball deep in the Warriors half, they made the most of it as Rhiannion Marshall powered her way over the tryline. The veteran converted her own score to make it 16-0.

Wigan desperately tried to get something going, but unfortunately for the visitors, they made another costly error on the 35-minute mark.

This time, a dropped ball on the 40-metre line was swiftly collected by Savannah Andrade, who powered down the middle of the park and scored York’s fourth try of the game. 

Wigan did have an opportunity to strike late on in the first half. A brilliant move down the right saw Kaitlin Hilton unleash Davies down the right flank. With no defenders in sight, the winger had a clear path towards the tryline, though she couldn’t execute after dropping the ball.

York seemingly knew they could not give Wigan breathing room and decided to go straight on the attack after the interval. 

This worked in their favour, as they found the breakthrough after just four minutes. Lindsay Anfield’s side worked the ball out wide to Lekuru, who produced a clever inside pass to Partington, allowing the fullback to score.

The Warriors are too good a team to simply throw in the towel, and they began to battle back. Their efforts finally paid off in the 52nd minute, as Molly Jones broke York’s line before unleashing Eva Hunter down the left flank. The second-rower showed a great burst of speed and covered 40 metres before crossing the whitewash. 

Wigan pushed for more, but all they could muster was a 75th-minute try from Davies – an effort which went unconverted.

With time running out, York had the final say as Emma Kershaw powered over the whitewash to hand the two-time defending league champions an impressive victory.

GAMESTAR: Eboni Partington not only delivered a solid performance, but also added her name to the scoresheet.

GAMEBREAKER: Wigan’s missed opportunity late in the first half could have made a big difference heading into the restart.

MATCHFACTS
VALKYRIE
2 Eboni Partington
30 Peace Lekuru
16 Lisa Parker
31 Adaoha Akwiwu
5 Emma Kershaw
1 Georgie Dagger
3 Tamzin Renouf
8 Liv Wood
9 Sinead Peach
17 Izzy Brennan
12 Savannah Andrade
20 Evie Sexton
10 Jas Bell
Subs (all used)
7 Ellie Williamson
11 Rhiannion Marshall
14 Izzy Bibby
25 Zoe Hornby

Tries: Peach (10), Lekuru (19), Marshall (29), Andrade (35), Partington (44), Kershaw (78)
Goals: Brennan 1/2, Marshall 3/4

WARRIORS
3 Georgia Wilson
2 Anna Davies
23 Kaitlin Hilton
4 Molly Jones
26 Tiana Power
6 Jenna Foubister
7 Isabel Rowe
8 Mary Coleman
19 Remi Wilton
10 Shaniah Power
11 Eva Hunter
15 Cerys Jones
13 Megan Williams
Subs (all used)
9 Carys Marsh
14 Rachel Thompson
21 Jade Gregory-Haselden
22 Mia Atherton

Tries: E Hunter (52), Davies (75)
Goals: Rowe 1/2

SCORING SEQUENCE: 6-0, 10-0, 16-0, 22-0; 26-0, 26-6, 26-10, 32-10

Rugby Leaguer & League Express Women of the Match
Valkyrie: Eboni Partington; Warriors: Isabel Rowe

Penalty count: 3-2
Half-time: 22-0
Referee: Liam Breheny